


Nothing's Perfect

by Petri808



Series: Fairytail Short Story One Shots [41]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Funny, imperfect dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22097347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petri808/pseuds/Petri808
Summary: Natsu finally asks Lucy out on a date and works so hard to make it the perfect night...  Things don't always work out as planned.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Series: Fairytail Short Story One Shots [41]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/686637
Kudos: 14





	Nothing's Perfect

_‘I can do this... I can do this... I...’_ “I-I can’t do it!” Natsu turns back to the table where he and Gray had been sitting. He sits down, holding his head in his hands. “I can’t, I’m too nervous.”

“I don’t see why,” Gray quips back, “it’s just Lucy.”

Natsu slams his fist on the table “Exactly!” Several members turn to see where the noise came from and he scrunches back in his seat mumbling. “It’s weird to ask her.”

But Gray just laughs at him. “End of the worlds coming and you get all fired up. Ask Lucy out on a date, and you crumble!” 

“Fuck you!”

“ _Tch_. Just get it over with and ask her out already. Natsu,” the ice mage leans over the table, “she knows exactly what you’re like.” He sits back with a smug look. “Just lay yourself bare, so to speak.”

“What the fuck?! You want me to strip?!”

“Idiot! It just means be yourself, show the real you, don’t hide anything.”

“Oh.”

“Think of it like any other mission. Your objective is to ask Lucy out on a date.”

“And then what?”

Gray rolls his eyes, “seriously?! When she says yes, you take her out on a real date!”

“Oh, right...” Natsu chuckles and runs his hand nervously through his hair. Not that he really knew what he was supposed do on this date. 

“Will you just go and ask her already?!”

“Okay, Okay!” The slayer gets up, muttering under his breath about a meddling ice freak. When he gets to the table where Lucy is sitting with a couple of the females of Fairy Tail, Natsu taps on her shoulder. 

“Oh, hey Natsu,” Lucy smiles at her partner, “did you need something?”

A blush explodes onto his cheeks, “I-I was wondering if...” _‘AHHHH THIS IS HARD!’_ “...you’d go out on a, um, d-date with me.”

“I’m sorry,” she blinks, “did you say date?”

Levy snickers, “he did.”

Cana grins, “he su—re did!”

“I did,” he cups the back of his neck, “y-you know... I don’t know, like dinner or something.”

“Oh... you really did just ask me out.” The realization hits Lucy like a ton of bricks. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little surprised. Um, yeah, sure,” she smiles, “I wouldn’t mind going on a date with you.”

“Really! Okay, how about tomorrow night? I can meet you at your apartment.”

She nods as her cheeks flush a little, “6?”

“6 it is!” Natsu turns tail and struts away. _It was all an act._ He was on cloud nine but if he stopped to think about anything now, he’d probably faint. Gray gives him the thumbs up as he walks past their table towards the front door, but he needed fresh air!

Back at the girls table, a giggle fest has taken over with Cana and Levy both teasing and congratulating the blonde. “And you thought he’d never make a move,” Cana sips her beer. 

“I thought it was sweet,” Levy retorts. “The poor boy looked so nervous I’m surprised he made it through the question!”

Lucy sighs and props her head on the table, “I wonder if he even knows what a date is?”

After enduring even more humiliation from Mira’s oohing, awing, and light teasing, Natsu thought he had everything planned to where even he couldn’t mess things up. Keep it simple, was her biggest piece of advice. He knew Lucy better than anyone else, her likes, dislikes, so it all came down to the execution. When 6pm rolled around, Natsu knocked on Lucy’s door holding a bouquet of pink roses. He’d been advised that red may have been more appropriate but decided to go with her favorite color instead.

He hears a stumbling sound from inside the apartment, things being tossed, rushing feet. “Are you okay Lucy?” 

“Y-Yeah, I’ll be right, _oww, damn it,_ I’ll be right out Natsu.”

When she opens the door a few moments later, Lucy is still adjusting her clothes, and slipping on her heels. Natsu chuckles, “are you sure you’re okay Lucy?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she waves her hand nonchalantly trying to act like she wasn’t a hot mess at the moment. Truth be told, it had taken her all afternoon to decide on an outfit. Re-did her hair and makeup a couple of times before giving up on said makeup and just leaving her hair down. She broke her first pair of heels, that was the stumbling ‘oww’ he had heard, and to top it all off, it was the only one that really matched her outfit. “You look really nice Natsu,” a light blush filtering along her cheeks. He’d really gone all out tonight in one of his button-down, off-white collared shirts and beige slacks.

“You look beautiful too Lucy,” his own blush appearing, “here,” he juts the bouquet out at her, “I-I got you flowers.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” she giggles, “Lemme put this in water before we go.” It takes just a couple of minutes till she’s back at her door, closing, and locking it behind her. 

Natsu holds out his hand tentatively, “ready for dinner?” 

Lucy takes it and nods, relishing in the warmth he exuded, but it also made her more nervous. It wasn’t like this was the first time she’d held his hand, and yet it was worlds apart from the others. They walked along the canal in a companionable silence, just a young couple, too wrapped up in their anxieties over the whole affair. 

“About time!”

They turn and see the boaters in the canal giving them a thumbs up. Those guys always gave her grief!

“Sorry ‘bout that Natsu, you know they always tease…” 

“Don’t apologize,” he mumbles, “they’re right, I should’a done this a long time ago.”

She pulls him to a halt, “what matters is you did it when I was ready.” Lucy blushes, “I mean, yeah I liked you for a while, but I would have been too nervous if you’d asked me before the Quest.”

“Oh, thank the stars,” he breathes out, “I wondered if you actually liked me liked me or was just humoring me on this date.”

Lucy laughs, “no… I Iike you Natsu.”

He squeezes her hand, “we should hurry. I made reservations at that new restaurant Aomatsu cause everyone said their katsudon is the best in town.”

Well what was she expecting, Lucy thought to herself as she nibbled at her one plate while watching Natsu gobbling up his fourth. He always ate like it was the best tasting thing in the world or the last meal of his life. Of course, considering this was an ‘official’ date, he could have _tried_ to be a little less sloppy. Surrounding tables kept side-eyeing the couple, probably wondering why any woman would put up with such a messy guy. But Lucy had grown so accustomed to Natsu’s eating habits she merely smiled, shrugged, and ignored them. She loved him, flaws and all. 

“You gonna finish that?” he points to her half-eaten cake. When she shakes her head and chuckles, Natsu happily accepts the plate.

Yeah…. She could consider herself ‘Lucky Lucy’ after all. How many people are blessed to have found not only a best friend, but the love of their life rolled into one person? Someone who never judged, always supported, and stayed true to their partnership. The bottom line was, she could always count on Natsu. 

As he wiped his hands with the napkin, Natsu tips his head, “do I have something on my face? You’ve been sitting there just staring at me while I ate.”

She keeps her head propped with her hand, shaking it, “just waiting for you to finish.”

“Aww man, I’m sorry,” he finishes wiping up, “I didn’t realize…. Am I ruining the moment?”

“No, no,” Lucy chuckles, her smiling eyes crinkling at the corners, “I don’t mind.”

“Whew! Okay well I think you’ll like what I got planned next, so lemme just settle the bill.”

They head back in the direction of Lucy’s apartment hand in hand. When they’re only about a block away, Natsu stops. He explains of wanting to surprise her and asks that she get on his back in a piggy-back style while closing her eyes. “No peaking,” he reminds. 

“I won’t.” Lucy can feel him walking but has no idea of the direction. Based on the faint smell of brine, she assumed they were still walking along the canal. A short distance later, the feeling of climbing a flight of stairs. She hears him open a door before walking a few more feet. 

He puts her down, still keeping his hands on her shoulders, “okay you can open your eyes now.”

Her heart flutters at the sight! They were only on top of her apartment building, but Natsu had set up a furry rug, a couple of pillows, and candles scattered around. In one a smooth stream of fire he lights them all, then plops onto the rug holding out a hand to her, “join me,” he smiles.

Lucy giggles and sits beside him. “Thank you Natsu, this is a really sweet end to our dinner date.”

“I’m glad you think so,” he scratches his head, “I thought it was a bit simple, but Mira said you’d like it.”

It wasn’t a surprise that the bar maid had a hand in this. Lucy leans on Natsu’s shoulder, “Mira was right.” 

After a while, they go from sitting to lying down, making a small bet of who would see a shooting star first. They chat about little things or simply lets a companionable silence fall over them. It was nice after all, just relaxing together, something rare between them. 

A slight breeze picks up, and Natsu’s nose catches an upswing of moisture in the air. In front of them there was nothing but clear, starry skies, but when he looks behind, the skies had grown menacing. Natsu gets them to their feet and they start bundling up the rug and pillows. It was too late. Another stronger gust and suddenly a deluge of rain strikes. He quickly grabs the rug and hauls it over their head as a makeshift umbrella, but being made of fabric, the soaked material quickly becomes inundated.

Natsu uses his magic to heat the fabric to a point before it would catch fire. Steaming off the water as quickly as it tries to soak in. Lucy clings to his body to stay warm. 

“I’m sorry Lucy, this wasn’t the ending I’d planned for.”

“Oh Natsu, it’s not like you couldn’t have predicted rain.”

“But now the date is ruined.”

She wraps an arm around his neck, while the other hand gently settles on his cheek, “I wouldn’t say that. It makes our first date memorable.”

He pouts, “I was hoping to get something right for once.”

Standing on her tip-toes, Lucy places a soft, exploratory kiss on his lips. It takes a second to register, but Natsu lets the rug fall, answering her kiss with more of his own. And as the rain falls around them, with only the rug balanced over their heads, steam wasn’t the only thing being generated on that roof top… 


End file.
